1. Technical Field
The invention relates to brackets, and in particular to a bracket for removably supporting a dental floss container on a support surface. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a bracket which removably mounts the dental floss container in the bracket in a position for easily dispensing dental floss therefrom without removing the container from the bracket.
2. Background Information
The use of dental floss has become an important product in dental hygiene and in the care of teeth. Dental floss comes in various types of dispensers to facilitate and encourage the use of the dental floss. The most common type of dental floss container includes a reel around which the dental floss is wound, wherein the reel is rotatably mounted within an outer protective housing or package. The container usually will include some type of cutting mechanism to facilitate cutting the dental floss after a predetermined length has been unwound from the reel. Many of these containers will have a rectangular outer housing with the cutting mechanism being mounted on one end thereof. Many of the containers will include a closure lid to maintain an exposed piece of the dental floss in a sanitary condition when not in use. Examples of some of these prior art dental floss containers are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,881,560, 5,054,674, 5,076,423, 5,156,311, and 5,649,659.
Although these dental floss containers work satisfactorily, it is believed important that the container be readily visible to the user to remind him/her to floss on a daily basis. However, most of these containers are usually stored in a drawer in the bathroom and since they are out of sight, do not serve as a reminder to regularly floss. It is believed that if the container is visible and conveniently located, for example, on the mirror or wall adjacent the washstand, that the user will floss more regularly than when the dental floss container is stored in a drawer out of sight. Thus, storing the dental floss container in a visible and readily accessibly location will serve as a reminder to the user to floss more regularly, especially if the dental floss container can be either removed from a supporting bracket for dispensing the floss therefrom or remain in the bracket when dispensing the dental floss from the storage reel.
One aspect of the invention is to provide a bracket which can be conveniently attached to a supporting surface such as a wall or mirror, by various attachment devices, such as an adhesive strip or suction cup, which will removably hold a dental floss container.
A further feature of the invention is to provide such a dental floss container bracket which enables the dental floss to be removed from the container without removing the container from the supporting bracket, which will enable the container to have a protective closure lid to maintain the dental floss in a sanitary condition, and in which the lid can be opened and closed without removing the container from the supporting bracket.
Still another aspect of the invention is to provide such a supporting bracket which can be formed relatively inexpensively as a one-piece plastic member that is free of moving parts, yet which will slidably receive and hold a dental floss container therein, and which will enable the container to be easily removed each time the dental floss is dispensed therefrom or permit the container to remain in the bracket while the dental floss is being dispensed therefrom.
Another feature of the invention is to provide an extremely thin and compact bracket which is removably attached to a support surface by an adhesive strip or suction cup with the dental floss container being removably attached to the bracket as by a tongue and groove mounting arrangement.
A further aspect of the invention is to provide the bracket with tapered internal ribs which positions the top portion of the container far enough away from the supporting surface so that a container top lid can be opened sufficiently to provide access to the dental floss without moving the container from within the bracket further adding to the usability and cleanliness of the dispenser.
Still another aspect of the invention is to provide the bracket with an open front whereby the trademark of the manufacturer printed on the front of the dental floss container is viewable through the open front thereby enhancing its attractiveness to a dental floss manufacturer for supplying brackets with its dental floss containers to promote its product.
The foregoing advantages, construction, and operation of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.